Thank you for joining us in 2025. The 2026 Hyde Park Jazz Festival celebrates our 20th anniversary! Save the dates September 26-27, 2026. The lineup will be announced in june!
International Jazz Day Neighborhood Jazz Night
Celebrating Jazz in Chicago and International Jazz Day: Neighborhood Jazz Night on Chicago’s South and West Sides
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Geof Bradfield Sextet, Spirit of Our Ancestors–the music of Randy Weston and Melba Liston
Saxophonist and composer Geof Bradfield blends modern jazz, African rhythms, and the roots music of his native South into a style that is “explicitly adventurous and forward-looking” (AllAboutJazz.com). Born in Houston and based in Chicago, Bradfield has performed throughout North America, Europe, Russia, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, sharing the stage and recording studio with artists such as Randy Weston, Dana Hall, Clark Sommers, Brian Blade, Ben Goldberg, Anna Webber, Orrin Evans, Jeff Parker, Matt Ulery, and Ryan Cohan. His work is featured on 50+ CDs including ten albums as a leader that have garnered critical accolades from the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and NPR. He has received grants and awards from Chamber Music America, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, DCASE, Illinois Arts Council, and the Mellon Foundation. The Downbeat Critics Poll has named him a Rising Star Tenor Saxophonist and Arranger multiple years.
“Bradfield is the sort of composer who creates room for departure.” -Nate Chinen, NPR
“Texas tenorist Geof Bradfield’s playing possesses a steely grandeur and deep sophistication.” -Michael Jackson, Downbeat
“Reedist Geof Bradfield is a Chicago treasure. His top-notch band embraces a classic Chicago aesthetic, spiked with the blues, unfussy in its attack and arrangements, and wide-ranging in the leader’s compositions.” -Peter Margasak, Nowhere Street
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Hyde Park Herald
By James Porter
Photo By Spencer Bibbs
If the Hyde Park Jazz Festival was ever a secret, the word has gotten around by now.
While no attendance records have been revealed, established jazz veterans were almost drawing rock star numbers on Saturday, which was centered on the Midway Plaisance, but spread across 12 venues throughout the neighborhood. The gospel-infused sounds of the Soul Message Trio, featuring Chris Foreman on organ, packed them in at the Augustana Lutheran Church on 55th Street. The Paul Giallorenzo Trio played a set at the Logan Center Penthouse that was literally standing room only. This may or may not have been one of the last warm weekends of the year, but if we must say farewell to summer, this was a grand way to do it.